Customer Reviews

The Piano Teacher: The True Story of a Psychotic Killer

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The authors give a chilling and factual account of themis-steps involved in seeking justice for a murderer of two youngacting students in the late sixties and early seventies in NYC. After being convicted for the first crime he is released from prison after 7 years, only to kill again less than 2 years later. After serving only part of his sentence for the second crime another technical error is poised to set him free again on parole. He is unaware of this and commits suicide in his cell. The authors paint a detailed and involving portrait of this psychotic serial killer, as well as the courts, the police officials, and the D.A.'s office. Issues of the insanity defense, the Miranda warning, the legalities of a valid confession, and the general atmosphere of the NYC justice system, are all raised in a thought provoking manner. Although written much earlier, this book is an excellent companion to Judge Harold Rothwax' book, "Guilty", in which he discusses the same issues and their deleterious effect on truth and justice in the courts.

Though I read this book several years ago, I still remember it vividly and hope this review inspires someone to buy it. I don't normally buy books like this; in fact, I picked this one up from a freebie table at work because I needed to read something on the train home, and boy, was I in for a surprise! The author leaves you hanging at the end of each chapter, luring you into the next until you're done before you know it. My heart pounded from the suspense and ached for the victims. This will be well worth your money.

I really enjoyed this book. It was intense, and very explainitory. It started with the terrible murder that happened in 1966 and the murder that happened after his parol in 1974. Then it went into Yukle's up bringing. It explained the lifestyles of his parents. They were both very good musicains. They taught Yukle music from a very young age and they were very strict with him. His mother was a perfectionist, and expected him to play every thing perfect. She would make him sit at the piano until he did. When his brother was born they weren't as strict with him. They let him do and be who he wanted. Soon his parents were divorced. He and his brother lived with their father and his new wife. He didn't see his mother for years after that. Yukle and his father weren't very close at all. His father was very cruel to him. He always made Charles feel unworthy. Yukle was a loner and kept to his music, the one thing he was very good at. His grades in school weren't that great except for music. He quit school to go into the army. He was still a loner there to. He was court marshalled and sent back home. He went back to school and met a young girl in band that he really liked. He moved to Chicago to go to school for photography. He felt like a different person behind the camera. Things didn't work out with the girl back home and soon he met his wife; she was one of two women that he was able to talk to, but he was never able to completly open up to her. It talks about the police reports and the events leading to his conviction. It was all very intresting. I like reading true stories rather than fictional, and this one kept me reading until the end.

THE PIANO TEACHER profiles the eccentric offender and two-time murderer, Charles Yukl. Raised by an unloving, punitive father, and a controlling mother, Yukl matured with deeply rooted feelings of inferiority, especially where his masculinity and sexuality were concerned. He managed to marry a strange woman, Enken, whom he met while attending college, but he later admitted during a psychiatric interview that during their 14 years of marriage, he and his wife had sex a total of approximately 10 times. Yukl was also quite fond of exposing himself to the unsuspecting students who came to his apartment for piano and voice lessons.

After murdering a young woman in 1966 and completing a rather short prison term, Yukl was paroled, having been described as a "model prisoner." Just 14 months after his release from prison, and still married to Enken, Yukl murdered again... unable to control his sadistic fantasies and murderous impulses.

The history of the offender is detailed and, in parts, riveting. Without spoiling any part of the story, I will state that Yukl implemented an elaborate group scam to bring young women to his apartment, settling upon a select few as potential victims. Two of these young women are lucky to be alive, having been out for the evening when Yukl made his final, fatal telephone contact with an unsuspecting woman who thought Yukl was a legitimate professional.

So, you may wonder, why only 3 stars? The author, a respected criminal trial attorney, is less than interesting when discussing himself. I found these portions of the book somewhat tedious and Tanenbaum's style of writing was, at times, arrogant. For example, on page 225, he writes: "I was attempting to design a mosaic: each piece in and of itself would not point inexorably to Yukl's guilt, but taken as a whole, my mosaic would relentlessly lead to the conclusion that Yukl was the killer." While I am not generally opposed to an author providing his or her impressions and observations of the murderer or describing his or her position as a key player, Tanenbaum managed to portray himself as a Know-It-All. (Perhaps he does know it all. However, he is less than humble and I am not fond of grandiose egos.)

In addition, the pace of the book slowed considerably following Yukl's second arrest for murder and ended rather anticlimactically with a plea to First Degree Murder. As a professional psychotherapist, I do not believe Yukl meets the criteria for Sociopathic Personality Disorder. However, he is or was a very sick individual lacking basic impulse control and rational judgment. Although Yukl often pleaded for psychiatric treatment, as if this could somehow have prevented another tragedy, Yukl fails to address the fact that he met with a psychotherapist WEEKLY for close to one year while on parole. Although part of him seemed to desire knowledge of himself and his impulses, he lied to his therapist on many, many occasions and did not once mention the cunning con he developed to lure young women to his home. As a rule, psychotherapy is not generally successful when patients skirt the truth.

In closing, Robert K. Tanenbaum has written many books. Having only read THE PIANO TEACHER, I cannot comment upon his total worth or talent as a writer. I speak only for myself when I say I probably will not read any other Tanenbaum books.

ONE OF THE BEST TRUE STORIES I HAVE EVER READ.ROBERT K. TANENBAUM THE AUTHOR IS A GENIUS IN CAPTURING THE ESSENSE OF THIS MURDERER. YOU CANNOT PUT DOWN THIS BOOK AND PLAN ON FINISHING IT ANOTHER DAY. AS MENTIONED IT IS ONE OF THE BEST TRUE STORIES I HAVE EVER READ.IF YOU LIKE MURDER MYSTERIES YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED....5 STAR RATING

Excellent writing. The author keeps you interested. By the end of the book I absolutely despised Charles Yukl. This is good reading for those who love true crime.

It is said a true story. We will never know what was in the killer's mind. And the author never attempt to guess either. Basically the author simply told us what happened. The book lacks of depth, in my opinion.

Charles Yukl was a quiet, somewhat introverted piano teacher to the ladies who dreamed of seeing their name in lights.

Compared to other music and voice teachers, Yukl's lessons were affordable to these women.

But there was a reason why...

Yukl was a man with a secret hatred of women; especially women who reminded him of his talented but rigid mother, Dorothea Freitag. Drugs and alcohol only fueled rage and turned Yukl into a homicidal maniac.

Aspiring actress Suzanne Reynolds was his first victim and, fortunately, Yukl was quickly caught. His own confession being the sole evidence used to convict him. Unfortunately, however, Miranda Rights had recently been established and police failed to acknowledge Yukl's request for an attorney so, after only eight years, he was set free on a technicality.

Young and somewhat shy Karin Schlegel believed she could be a star with the help of a music teacher. Enter Yukl.

Unable to fight the re-emerging urges, Yukl created an elaborate ruse to get young women to his apartment when his wife, Enken Yukl, wouldn't be home. It was during one of these nights that the demons assumed all control of Charlie and he strangled Karin with a necktie.

Yukl's actions were both shocking and stupid. And once again police would have him in their sights when in comes an overzealous D.A. intent on getting a confession from this murderous man, without regards to the technicalities that turned him loose once before.

If not for pure luck and the keen ear of a seasoned detective, Yukl may have been free to kill again.

I read the 1987 version of The Piano Teacher: The True Story of a Psychotic Killer by Robert K. Tanenbaum and Peter S. Greenberg. While the cover of the book leaves a sense of a very mundane tale, the story within is anything but. Detailing the life of Charles Yukl and his colorful adult life, this book is a page turner from beginning to end.

I noticed that there is a 2001 re-release of this book. There is no notations of updates, so I have to assume it is the same as the 1987 (especially considering the ending) on which this review is based but don't hold me to that. (Of course, could it be anything but better?)

Although it has no photos, The Piano Teacher: The True Story of a Psychotic Killer is an oldie but goodie and I definitely recommend adding it to your reading list.

It seems that whenever I read a true crime story about an individual there is a dysfunctional family involved. A child is abused in some way by one or both parents, and he or she grows up and falls into the same pitfalls that they themselves went through as children.

Here we have the case of Charles Yukl who sent out advertisements regarding interviews for women interested in advancing their acting careers. There is a lesson to be learned here for those women in particular new to a big city and naive to what they may be setting themselves up for. Once lured to Yukl's apartment women faced the dark side of Yukl's personality and two did not leave there alive.

If you are interested in learning about police interrogation techniques and courtroom drama you will find this book to be of special interest to you. How do the police conduct an interview and have it stand up in court? Is the defendant sane or insane? Is the defendant better off pleading guilty to a charge or should he take his chances with a trial? These are some of the questions that are brought up in the case of Charles Yukl, and in numerous other cases in court as well. Charles Yukl blamed society for his deviant behavior for not giving him the psychiatric treatment he needed to quench his urges.

As I said there are lessons here to be learned for a neophyte trying to advance their career in an unfamiliar environment in addition to learning about police interrogation techniques and courtroom drama.

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